Meet Culpeper Time's Citizen of the Year

Warm, caring and hardworking are all words that have been used to recognize a particular citizen of Culpeper who has excelled in helping her community.

Sandra Reaves-Yates has consistently worked to empower and uplift those around her.

The Culpeper Times' annual Citizen of the Year award recognizes residents who show not only professional excellence but also efforts to foster a sense of community and support for others.

For 2024, Reaves-Yates received the award for her lifetime of contributions to the Culpeper community.

From being president of the NAACP-Culpeper Branch 7058 to running a small business downtown, Reaves-Yates has honed her leadership talents into bettering the lives of her fellow residents.

“I see her work really hard in her business,” Culpeper Mayor Frank Reaves Jr., a first cousin of Reaves-Yates, told the Culpeper Times. “She’s a warm person, easy to get along with and treats everybody the same. And she goes to a lot of events in the community, and she cares about and enjoys everything she’s a part of.”

As president of the NAACP-Culpeper Branch 7058 for two terms from 2017 to 2021, Reaves-Yates upheld the organization’s mission of progressing towards equity, political rights and social inclusion by advancing policies and practices that expand human and civil rights.

During her tenure she helped organize and host several events including a Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration and a Community Gathering for Peace & Justice in support of Black Lives Matter. Reaves-Yates remains an active member of the NAACP.

“She did a really great job as NAACP president, she brought everyone together, she’s really good at that,” Reaves said.

These days, Reaves-Yates can now be seen spending most of her time running a small business in the downtown area that looks to empower and bring confidence to a clientele in Culpeper she could relate to.

N Style Fashion Gallery, a ladies' designer fashion, gift and accessory boutique, opened in Culpeper on South Main Street in 2014 and relocated to Downtown Culpeper near the corner of North Main Street and West Davis Street in September 2019.

Walking into her store, customers will see racks full of clothes and stands full of jewelry and accessories lining every wall, along with an eager and fashion savvy Reaves-Yates ready to help.

“We cater to women of a particular age who love fashions … to the discerning woman who knows the fabric, she knows good quality, but yet she wants it to still be fashionable,” Reaves-Yates told Culpeper Times. “I felt like that was left out in the area overall. In the fashion industry right now, it is very difficult for us to find those things that we're not trying to look 21 but we also aren't trying to look 80.”

Reaves-Yates says she wants to help women in Culpeper feel strong and confident through fashion and has found that Culpeper residents have responded well to the message.

“Most of our business comes from repeat customers as a result of really, truly catering to our clients. We actually listen to our customers and when there's something that they are in need of, I do a lot of personalized shopping as well,” she said. “All my experiences are applied to working with my clients, because it's a very diverse age group and diverse personalities that we cater to here.”

Reaves-Yates seeks fashion and accessory designers from the southern states, New York and Milan to provide boutique quality and style with the personable service to each client.

Receiving the Citizen of the Year award is not only a recognition of Yate’s professional excellence as a small business owner and community involvement as NAACP president, but also a celebration of her humanity.